


The Soldiers

by Charles_Basilone



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 00:42:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20218975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charles_Basilone/pseuds/Charles_Basilone
Summary: The ugly truth is that soldiers are meant to be used. We, the used, know this. We accept this. We go, gladly, for what we believe. But not all of us come back whole.How each PJO character illustrates this as a collection of one-shots.Trigger wanting for suicide, PTSD, graphic violence, character death, mentions of being a child soldier, etc. Each chapter has a trigger warning of it's own, so you can skip any that you need to.Very respectfully,Charles Basilone





	1. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Self harm, depression, suicide.

**NICO**

Nico suffers alone. His mind is filled with the torments of his past. But Nico is strong, or so he says. He's not a people person. Withdrawn, he fights the demons in his head alone.

He collapses on his rack in his dark apartment, shaking and sobbing.

The hash marks perpendicular to the bone on each forearm were nearly healed. He had made them with a mortal knife, not wanting the quick release that would be his death if he used his Stygian Iron sword.

He looks at it now, sitting on his bed, it on the floor where he left it. He's still shaking, still sobbing. He takes a deep breath and picks up his sword. It's time for his pain to end.

_Nico is the 20 we couldn't save._


	2. Luke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of abandonment, discussion of war for the sake of war.

**LUKE**

Luke was just a kid, sent because they had nothing else to do with him.

He came back from the Garden of the Hesperides at 17, having failed a quest given to him that someone else had already completed. He was consumed with disgust. He had done what they asked, and for what? The gods didn't care. His father didn't love him, nor did he even find him useful. But Kronos did. Kronos could help him change the world. He liked that.

_Luke is the one we taught we didn't care about him, and so he became embittered._


	3. Jason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: PTSD, violence, character death, nightmares.

**JASON**

He can't help but see their faces when he closes his eyes. Roman soldiers, loyal troops, and he led them to their deaths. Even now, years later, he can't stop seeing their faces. It's his fault, he thinks bitterly. He was their commanding officer. If he'd done better, there wouldn't be so many of his friends dead. He shook his head and rose. He had work to do.

A few hours later, he collapsed back at his desk. He had been working on tasks for both camps all day, and now he was exhausted. But he didn't want to go to sleep. His ghosts haunted him each and every night. The visions of the battle on Mount Tam never seemed to leave him. He pulled out some paperwork and got started.

"John, take your century and seize that ridge! We won't be able to storm the stronghold unless you seize that outpost up there, their archers have us pinned!" Jason ordered.

He was horrified to see 1st Century, 1st Cohort, 12th Legion Fulminata, surge up the hill only to be cut down. John led the charge, and they fought bravely, but John died within two minutes, and the cohort suffered losses equal to half of its strength, many of them Jason's friends.

Jason woke up from his memory, jerking upright at his desk, covered in a sheen of glistening sweat. He wiped his brow and sighed. Maybe someday he'd have peace.

_Jason is the commander who can't get over the deaths of those he led in combat, believing if he had been better, maybe they wouldn't have died._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this may be the best chapter I've written


End file.
